My NOLA: 20 Questions with Ylva Rouse

Wildflowers, 2017
Collage with Japanese papers and watercolor paint inches. Photo courtesy: Artist and Praxis Gallery, New York

Prospect New Orleans is a contemporary art triennial with exhibits all over the city. Featured exhibitions include the works of local, national, and international artists in a uniquely New Orleans setting. Prospect.4 (P.4) opens to the public on Saturday, November 18 and runs through February 25, 2018. The timing aligns with the New Orleans Tricentennial celebrations, so P.4 places special emphasis on art of the Global South, including North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and the region’s European colonial history.

Ylva Rouse, Prospect.4’s Interim Director (photo: Craig Mulcahy)

We spoke to Ylva Rouse, who is serving as Prospect’s Interim Director during P.4. She has been part of the Prospect team from the very beginning, when Founding Director Dan Cameron asked her to be a part of the team.

“I was living in Spain and thought, ‘It must be fate!,’” she said. “Which brought me back to the city where I was born.”

When asked what she was looking forward to during Prospect.4, Ylva said “I’m particularly excited to bring our visitors to the river, as for the first time we have artwork in Crescent Park, on the streetcars of the Riverside Line, on the Algiers Ferry and installed in Algiers Point.”

She also recommends those visiting for P.4 begin their journey at the Welcome Center at 750 Carondelet Street to get oriented. Ylva share her favorites things about New Orleans, as well as tips on things to see and do, below.